Doug Stitt most recently served as the Chief People Officer for the United States Army where he was the lead HR officer for the Army's 1 million uniform and civilian personnel. He graduated from Norwich University and served around the globe in a variety of formations. He is married to Beth and has two daughters, Laura and Anna.

Doug had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“[Soldiers] all have a story and it’s unique to them” (7:40).

“Connect with the people that are making the connections” (8:30).

“[When I hear the word soldier] I think of service, I think of selflessness, I think of being a servant, I think of physical and emotional courage” (10:35).

“I wish more people knew a soldier” (16:55).

“Just because it’s a tradition doesn’t mean it’s good” (19:00).

“Innovation for tomorrow is better than the tradition of today” (19:25).

“Friction isn’t always bad” (22:00).

“People want to be wanted” (24:10).

“Culture is a long-term ebb and flow in an organization” (26:50).

“What brought somebody into the army might not be why they’re sticking around” (40:20).

“I see opportunities to go try and do something different” (41:45).

“I became a better listener than when I first joined [the Army]” (42:35).

“People don’t care about what you know until they know how much you care” (47:40).

“Coaching trees are very evident within the military as well” (54:10).

“Every soldier is a leader… that’s what it means to be in this organization” (1:01:35).

“Leader development is hard, it takes time” (1:03:20).

“I cared about [my soldiers] first and foremost as people” (1:10:30).

Additionally, you can connect with Doug on LinkedIn.

Thank you so much to Doug for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

Doug Stitt on Building Connection for Leadership